Back in the Alps, back on the snow.

Last week I spent two days testing Stranda Snowboards new model, the “Shorty” on the Kaunertaler Glacier. Even though the Alps had two major dumps within 10 days, the snow didn’t meet my expectations. It was very wind-blown and I guess all the fresh snow was on the Italian side of the ridge. Unfortunately, there’s no lifts whatsoever.

The Brand Stranda Snowboards might be new to you, but you should remember EMM episode 27, “Bigger Boards More Spray” where I introduced Maverick Snowboards and Mats. It’s still Mats, it’s just a new brand.

So we focused mostly on test riding the Shorty on slopes where it behaved really good. With it’s 169cm of which 135cm is effective edge, it is a full-on carving board in every way! For me personally, it was very enlightening to be able to ride the same board with different wood core setups. It’s mind blowing, how much influence a little more stiffness here or a little more flex there can have on the allover-feeling a board gives you. In fact, it’s like riding completely different boards. 

Every once in a while, the Shorty could still demonstrate it’s powder abilities when we found small patches of untouched snow in between slopes. It definitely makes you wanting more, so I am pretty sure I will spend some more time testing it when the conditions line up.